Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Drinking 1-2 cups of coffee per day reduced stroke risk by 22% while 3-4 cups per day provided a 25% reduced risk.
In the United States, coffee is second only to water as the most widely consumed beverage in the United States. Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee on a daily basis, totaling more than 400 million cups of coffee per day, more than any other nation (1).
Coffee is known to contain more than 1,000 compounds, with caffeine being its’ most well-known component, due to its addictive properties (2) but also as a potential benefit to athletes in competition (3). Now a recent research review (4) has sought to summarize the heart health benefits of coffee, specifically regarding heart disease and stroke, which account for 1 in 3 of all U.S. deaths and cost our healthcare system nearly $250 billion in 2011 (5).
A 2009 review (6) of 21 studies concerning heart disease consisted of 15,599 heart disease cases developed in 407,806 subjects. They found that, compared with “light-to-absent coffee consumption” (less than 1 cup per day in the United States or less than 2 cups per day in Europe), those with “moderate coffee consumption” (more than 1 cup per day in the U.S. or 2 cups per day in Europe) had a 13% decreased risk of heart disease (p < 0.001). Coffee consumption has even been shown to be safe in patients after a heart attack (7).
Regarding stroke, a 2012 review (8) of 6,962 strokes among 442,098 subjects showed that consuming 3 to 6 cups of coffee per day decreased the risk of stroke by 21% (p = 0.003). But more coffee consumption is not better, as those consuming more than 6 cups of coffee per day showed no decreased risk of stroke (p = 0.97), leading the researchers to conclude that “higher coffee consumption is not associated with a higher risk of stroke and that habitual moderate consumption may exert a protective effect.” And a 2002 Swedish study in women (9) showed that, compared to consuming less than 1 cup per day, protective effects against stroke were seen with 1-2 cups (22% reduced risk) and 3-4 cups (25% reduced risk) per day (p = 0.02).
Researchers have yet to identify the specific mechanisms behind coffee’s healthful effects and exactly how coffee lowers the risk of stroke is unknown. But suggestions point to coffee’s ability to maintain healthy levels of inflammation (10) as well as healthy blood sugar levels (9), anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects (11).
For the researchers, “The currently available evidence on cardiovascular effects related to habitual coffee consumption is largely reassuring” and that “Coffee can be included as part of a healthy diet for the general public and also for those with increased cardiovascular disease risk or cardiovascular disease.”
Source: O’Keefe, James H., et al. “Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 62.12 (2013): 1043-1051.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Posted October 15, 2015.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
Editor’s Note: “…The health effects of caffeine have been extensively studied. Short term side effects such as headache, nausea, and anxiety have been shown as symptoms of mild caffeine consumption. The long-term effects of moderate caffeine consumption can be a reduced risk of developing hepatic (liver) diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Caffeine competitively inhibits different adenosine receptors (which relax the brain and heart) . . . to make a person feel alert (but increases heart rate). A mild stimulant of the central nervous system, caffeine also stimulates cardiac muscle, relaxes smooth muscle, increases gastric secretions, and produces diuresis (more urination).”. Source: Wikipedia, October 24, 2014.
References:
- USA NCA. National coffee drinking trends 2012. New York, NY: National Coffee Association USA; 2012.
- Daly JW, Fredholm BB. Caffeine–an atypical drug of dependence. Drug Alcohol Depend 1998;51:199–206
- Jones G. Caffeine and other sympathomimetic stimulants: modes of action and effects on sports performance. Essays Biochem. 2008;44:109-23. doi: 10.1042/BSE0440109.
- O’Keefe JH. Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013 Sep 17;62(12):1043-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.06.035. Epub 2013 Jul 17
- “Direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke (in billions of dollars), United States, 2011” posted on the American Heart Disease Association website
- Wu JN, Ho SC, Zhou C, et al. Coffee consumption and risk of coronary heart diseases: a meta-analysis of 21 prospective cohort studies. Int J Cardiol 2009;137:216–25
- Richardson T, Baker J, Thomas PW, Meckes C, Rozkovec A, Kerr D. Randomized control trial investigating the influence of coffee on heart rate variability in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Q J Med 2009;102:555–61
- D’Elia L, Cairella G, Garbagnati F, Scalfi L, Strazzullo P. Moderate coffee consumption is associated with lower risk of stroke: metaanalysis of prospective studies. J Hypertens 2012:e107
- Bidel S, Hu G, Qiao Q, Jousilahti P, Antikainen R, Tuomilehto J. Coffee consumption and risk of total and cardiovascular mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia 2006;49:2618–26
- Kempf K, Herder C, Erlund I, et al. Effects of coffee consumption on subclinical inflammation and other risk factors for type 2 diabetes: a clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:950–7
- Arnlov J, Vessby B, Riserus U. Coffee consumption and insulin sensitivity. JAMA 2004;291:1199–201.
